Stacy the Kat Carter just tweeted this -LOL- Stacy (The Kat) Carter just tweeted this

Juicing makes ya feel better when you're sickly like me

She meant drinking vegan juice- but still

Just got a call from a friend - I am getting free tickets to see Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson tonight- can't wait. ( The highlights of the show were Merle asking the crowd "Do you like bacon" and a guy who looked like Roger Sterling from Mad Men dancing the whole show.)

Open The Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano retained the title in Detroit and signed a two year contract extension with Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE.

RF Video has released 2 new shoot interviews one with Tammy Sytch and the other with Balls Mahoney. They have also released a documentary about the National Wrestling Alliance.

CZW at WrestleCon on April 5!

Highspots and WWNLive.com will present the first annual WrestleCon on April 5th-7th, 2013 at the Meadowlands Expo Center on 355 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey.

CZW will be in action on Friday, April 5. The Meadowlands Expo Center is a first class facility, just three miles from the location of Wrestlemania, five miles from Manhattan and minutes from the Newark Airport. It is easily accessible from the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Expressway and New York/New Jersey transit.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Personally it has been one weird up and down day- unable to sleep I turn to X-Box to kill some time and as soon as I log on I am informed by a fellow gamer about the tragic events in Colorado at the late show of Dark Knight Rises. That depresses me. When I finally get to sleep I am awoken by my phone and my father in law informs me that we have AC repair coming - after the hottest year - with several 100 plus days we have finally have AC.

but the real shock of the day is the news of the loss of my long time friend Sherman Pendergarst. He died at the age of 45. I know he had been fighting cancer.

Thank you Sherman (or is it Big Sheldon ) - so many great memories, seeing the Jordan Bulls together ( and President Clinton was there also) , or being late for Springsteen and still seeing an amazing 2 hour show or the time you drove from VA Beach thru a weather event to pick me and Melissa Pittmanup- in DC, working together at the NSECT Club , you having my back and providing ideas on our commute to work, you helping me get in at the Bait Shack , those lunches with the great cooking by Wilma , working together on Verve magazine, Route 44, your sense of humor, your smile, your creativity, thank you for being such a great friend and for making so many moments worth living. Thank you for helping with other projects in the last couple years and your time and insight. Thank you so much for everything and every moment . Thank you Sherman. RIP

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Dark Knight Rises - By definition the SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER needs to compel the general public to leave their home and pay money for movie and concessions in massive numbers. Each SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER is not just competing with other movies from that year, but each slate of CGI explosions of every summer since the launch of the Star Wars franchise. You compete with big names in the cast , explosions and a character worth sequels. Batman is just such a character.

Ever since the iconic and cartoonish network show Batman has been a hot property for DC Comics.

In the late 80s director Tim Burton took the Batman to new commercial heights.

Although the series ran out of steam somewhere during the Clinton administration.

Christopher Nolan took over the series and gave it a darker and slightly more real tone.The second film of the series remains my favorite. Probably because of the Heath Ledger turn as the Joker.

Dark Knight Rises is a solid chapter and ending to the Nolan trilogy but overly long for a popcorn flick almost 2 and a half hours , there are threads of the story I could have lived without but overall I was engaged for the entire running time and could not wait to see what happened next. The cast was solid with a standout performance by Marion Cotillard as Miranda. I thought Anne Hathaway was solid as Catwoman and I enjoyed Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne(although I am still not a fan of his "Batman" voice). The plot has enough twists and turns to keep both casual and comic book fans enthralled. The bombastic Hans Zimmer score pushes forward how epic this movie needs to be,wants to be- every crisis is the end of the city, the demise of goodness,etc. I sometimes wish we could dial back the heightened drama and focus on character development- but I know folks like to see things get blowed up real good. Or do they- I can remember folks getting into movies like Twister because of the effects, but now the effects are piled so high and so thick that it seems like a speedbump in the actual plot. If you enjoyed the last 2 Nolan forays into Gotham this is a solid final chapter in the story, if this is your first time watching a Batman movie, this is a good action flick with a solid story well told by a good director. B

Sunday, July 15, 2012

In 2011 Money in the Bank was the WWE PPV of the year- this year it was a PPV in the year 2012. Sure CM Punk was in the singles main event, but this time instead of holding the WWE title hostage and maybe leaving as champion, this time his genitals are being held captive by special ref AJ. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are feuding for the top title in the WWE , but the main story is some bizarre love triangle between the 2 grapplers and the ultra-perky AJ. CM Punk retained the title, but the action was overshadowed by the drama.

In the actual main event John Cena won the Raw Money in the Bank match by holding onto the briefcase as the handle broke off- he looked legit surprised and happy with the win.

Dolph Zigglar took the sick bump of the night as he was deposited onto the announce table by Lord Tensai during the curtain jerker. Mr Ziggles was rewarded for his efforts by capturing the Smackdown briefcase. Sin Cara looked out of place and was part of the botch-fest/spotfest that kicked off the PPV.

IN other news The Miz returned in a loosing effort in the RAW briefcase battle.Sheamus retained the World Heavyweight title by defeating Alberto Del Rio.

Overall this was an okay event that I will record if it is shown on WWE Classics on Demand but unlike last year's MITB I will not be purchasing it on DVD. Their were some good spots and the action flowed all night= but it was not a memorable outing for the world wide leader in sports and entertainment. B-

I didn't hate the PPV- just am glad I did not order it - although Buffalo Wild Wings was SRO for a few moments, fortunately local wrestling fan Dave let us join him at his table.

My favorite match of the weekend was Fit Finlay versus Michael Elgin on ROH TV- well paced, physical and logical- good stuff. I also enjoyed the Sheamus/Jericho match on Zackdown.

* Shane Strickland def. Core* 4Loco's Alex Colon def. The Nation of Intoxication's Devon Moore* Joe Gacy won the 8-man "Up The Ladder" Scramble Challenge Match against Mia Yim, Niles Young, Latindragon, Rory Little Mondo, Drew Gulak, Ruckus, & Dustin Rayz. Rayz suffered a hand injury that CZW will update you on.* Jake Crist & Greg Excellent def. Dave Crist & CZW Owner DJ Hyde. After the match, Matt Tremont & DJ Hyde had a confrontation. Excellent used one of his remaining "wishes" & sets for Tangled Web on August 11, DJ Hyde vs. Matt Tremont!* CZW World Tag champions and 4Loco's Azrieal & Bandido, Jr. def. Nation of Intoxication's Lucky 13 & Danny Havoc* CZW World Heavyweight champion MASADA retained against AR Fox* Sami Callihan won the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title in an Iron Man Match against Drake Younger* After the Iron Man, AR Fox cashed in his title shot opportunity...IN THAT MOMENT against Callihan, which AR Fox became the new CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title* After the match, Dave Crist threw a fireball in Fox's face & with Callihan started battling the locker room. Jake Crist came out, but now joined with Dave & Sami. Sami declared CZW was in anarchy & him, Dave, & Jake were taking control. The locker room emptied and began fighting one another* MASADA came out, cleared house, & said as World Heavyweight champ if anyone was taking control, it was him. Joker then made his return to CZW & stood face-to-face with MASADA, then walked out of the ring. Was it a challenge? What does this mean to MASADA?

With the formation of Sami Callihan, Jake Crist, and Dave Crist as Ohio Is For Killers; the locker room melee; the confrontation of MASADA and Joker; and the anarchy after the CZW event…what is going to happen next?

Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Steel Trap ( 1952) - Joseph Cotten is a mid-level bank executive who is tired of the rat race. He devises a scheme to escape the monotony of the daily grind and an escape route.

This is a suspense thriller about a man with the perfect plan and terrible luck. Well he has luck for most of his journey but potholes fill his road to escape over and over. Made in the shadow of the code this movie is hamstrung by the inevitability that the main character will either get caught or do "the right thing". I watched the entire offering but this is not something I would seek out or suggest to others. C+

Sadly it looks like Kharma has been released by the WWE or as she tweeted she has been promoted to their alumni roster.

Another hilarious episode of the Old School Wrestling Podcast in this episode they cover the Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge- Click to Listen

I found this today @ CHKD while shopping with my wife

Now I log off to view Big Brother and a new episode of Louie- can't wait for Breaking Bad on Sunday-

Frank Eudy a contestant on the CBS Summer reality series Big Brother is the son of former WWF/WCW champion Sid Eudy. Also it was threatened that Mister Pectaculor Jessie Goderz was going to be a Big Brother legend- although I would take him over Mike Boogie.

The most recent episode of Roundtable Wrestling Radio - Combining Monday and Thursday Shows from July 9 and July 12, 2012 - Click to Listen

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Moonrise Kingdom - my favorite movie of 2012, ok I have only seen 4 new release movies, but I loved this movie. Okay I will be all Mary Sue in this review(not really -just felt like typing that sentence). The scenario presented by the film-makers was a fantasy of mine growing up. Running away with a cute girl and living in the woods. While the commercials where busy hyping up Bill Murray- the movie was stolen by it's leads Jared Gilman as Sam the orphaned Khaki Scout and Kara Hayward as the troubled pre-goth goth girl Suzy. Sam and Suzy are pen-pals who concoct a plan to run away together.I admit I was hesitant to view this movie since I had my fill of director Wes Anderson's quirkiness. I loved Rushmore- but felt that every movie after that felt a little forced and not so organic. This movie has plenty of odd twists and turns and Bob Balaban as a showy narrator , but the whole piece felt natural and captivated me from beginning to end. Probably the best effort in capturing the wonder and agony of being a pre-teen, 13 year old since Stand By Me and Matinee. Well worth checking out on the big screen and the first movie I know I will get on DVD this year. A+ Moonrise Kingdom Trailer

Stand by Me Trailer

Matinee Trailer

Shadows of a Leader- an interesting peak at the female bodyguards of Qaddaffi. Due to limited access we only see what the state wants us to see. Much is made of the newly liberated role of the women (although it was later revealed that the women were as much a part of harem as protectors). Filmed in 2004 I wonder what the fate befell these ladies after the fall of the regime. Worth a look - currently on Netflix. B

Monday, July 02, 2012

The Avengers (2012) - Joss Whedon's helms the Marvel spandex entry into summer movies. Combining CGI, cliches and explosions galore this imperfect super-hero movie was part of my Sunday. Mark Ruffalo did a superb job as the Hulk ( probably the best adaptation since the Bixby/Ferrigino TV show). Tom Hiddleston is a perfect foil as the adopted brother of Thor. His Loki has a plan to take over earth and he is trying to harness a power source from outer space. I also liked Thor, Captain America and Iron Man more in this movie than I do in their own movies. Scarlett Johansson looked good in her getup but her character felt incomplete and while I enjoyed Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, I felt like I learned very little about his persona or history. Overall this worth checking out as a matinee, but I am glad I did not rush out to see the movie nor do I feel the urge to own it. The best part of the movie for me was a brief cameo from the haggard looking Harry Dean Stanton. B-

In wrestling news - Angelina Love confirmed via Twitter that she has been granted her release from Impact Wrestling and TNA.